The present teachings are predicated upon providing an improved brake system (e.g., disc brake, drum brake, or both) for use with vehicles. For example, the brake system may be used with almost any vehicle (e.g., car, truck, bus, train, airplane, or the like). Alternatively, the brake system may be integrated into assemblies used for manufacturing or other equipment that require a brake such as a lathe, winder for paper products or cloth, amusement park rides, wind turbines, or the like. However, the present teachings are most suitable for use with a passenger vehicle (i.e., a car, truck, sports utility vehicle, or the like).
Generally, a disc brake system includes a rotor, a caliper body, a support bracket, an inboard brake pad, and an outboard brake pad that are on opposing sides of the rotor. The caliper body further includes a bridge, one or more fingers, and a piston bore. The piston bore houses a piston. The bore has a bore axis that the piston moves along during a brake apply and a brake retract. The piston bore may include a fluid inlet, a closed wall, a front opening including a piston boot, and a cylindrical side wall that includes a seal groove located near the front opening. Typically, the fluid inlet is located in the closed wall of the piston bore so that when pressure is applied the fluid will flow into the piston bore. During a pressure apply the fluid will push the piston towards the front opening and info contact with a brake pad. The caliper housing will then move on and/or along one or more pins so that the one or more fingers contact the opposing brake pad. The contact between the piston and a brake pad and/or the one or more fingers and a brake pad may cause noise, vibrations, or harshness.
Drum brake systems generally include a pair of brake shoes attached to a support plats (i.e., a backing plate). The brake shoes are connected together via at least one spring that assists in retracting the brake shoes after a brake apply. The drum brakes further include a wheel cylinder between the brake shoes that moves the brake shoes during a brake apply. During a brake apply the master cylinder moves the brake shoes into contact with a drum so that a friction force is created. The brake shoes may contact a portion of the support (backing) plate during a brake apply, a brake refract, or both creating noise.
One attempt to reduce the noise in both the disc brake system and the drum brake system employs a loose grease and/or lubricant that may be applied on the pressure plate of the brake pad in an attempt to reduce brake noise. However, excess lubricant may be applied to the braking system and the excess lubricant may: coat the friction material, transfer to other components of the brake system and/or manufacturing equipment, form a collection point for dirt and other contaminants, or a combination thereof. Some systems may attach a shim or some other device to the brake pads, the piston, a finger, or a combination. In an attempt to reduce brake noise, vibrations, or harshness.
The disc brake systems and drum brake systems discussed above may further rattle during use in addition to brake squeal. Rattling may be caused by the contact between brake parts such as a brake pad striking a caliper body or a support bracket, or drum brake part such as a brake shoe contacting a drum or a support plate during acceleration events such as driving over bumps. Other events that may cause rattle are disc thickness variation of the rotor, loose brake pads and/or brake shoes, brake torque variation, or a combination thereof so that during stopping and/or running the brake components vibrate causing a rattling sound. Some attempts have been made to reduce rattle by adhering one or more brake components together so that when the components are installed the parts are properly placed in their intended position. However, the addition of an adhesive in the manufacturing process presents difficulty in handling, correctly aligning the parts before contacting the parts together so that adhesive is not incorrectly placed on the parts, prematurely adhering components together, avoiding contamination such as dirt and dust, removal and disposal of a protective backing sheet, issues with application of an adhesive, or a combination thereof. What is needed is an apparatus and method for applying an adhesive to a brake component so that the adhesive is applied to a target area without contaminating the adhesive, transferring the adhesive to adjacent components, creating handling difficulties, or a combination thereof.
Examples of attempts to place a grease and/or lubricant in a brake system may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,438,806; 5,762,186; and 6,213,257; and U.S. Patent Application publication Nos. 2004/0163903; 2007/0045083; 2008/0080892; and 2010/0140020; and WO2010/060191; examples of attempts to place an adhesive in a brake system may be found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/022055 and 2004/0188190; some examples of lubricants may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,252,658 and 5,089,154; and an example of a capsule may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,758 all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. However, these systems may include excess grease, lubricants, adhesive, or a combination thereof on the brake components so that the grease, lubricants, adhesive, or a combination thereof becomes located on a friction surface. The excess grease, lubricant, adhesive, or a combination thereof may transfer from the brake component to other components of the brake system, manufacturing systems, or a combination thereof. During a change of the brake pads and/or brake shoes grease and/or an adhesive may be applied manually to a brake component; however, the person changing the brake pads may not apply the grease and/or adhesive, forget to apply the grease and/or adhesive, apply the grease and/or adhesive to an incorrect region, or a combination thereof to the component and the brake system may suffer from noise, vibration, or harshness.
It would be attractive to have a device, method, or both that allows for a grease, a a lubricant, an adhesive, or a combination thereof to be applied to the brake component so that the grease, lubricant, adhesive, or a combination thereof are dry to the touch until a first brake apply. It would be attractive to have a device, method, or both where during a brake change, personnel is not required to apply lubricant to a brake component. What is needed is a device, method, or both where the brake component is free of excess grease, excess lubricant, excess adhesive, the like, or a combination thereof so that grease, lubricant, adhesive or a combination thereof are not susceptible to secondary transfer onto manufacturing equipment, installation equipment, braking system equipment, friction surfaces, or a combination thereof. What is further needed is a device, method, or both where grease, lubricant, adhesive, the like, or a combination thereof are applied only to regions of the brake system where grease, lubricant, adhesive, the like, or a combination thereof are required so that noise in the system is reduced and/or eliminated without the system including excess grease, lubricant, adhesive, or a combination thereof.